1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to devices and methods for creation of motions in electronic apparatuses containing interfaces such as the artificial life and artificial agent. This application is based on patent application No. Hei 9-78918 filed in Japan, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Prior Art
Recently, electronic apparatuses such as the home electronic apparatuses and office automation apparatuses are designed to have multi functions and complicated configurations. As for the electronic apparatus which is designed to have multi functions, the recent technology realizes a human interface which is capable of increasing an efficiency to handle the apparatus. For example, the recent technology provides the bar code input system and voice input/output system. Conventionally, complicated manual operations are required to input instructions to the apparatus. Those manual operations are replaced by simple button operations. Combinations of the simple button operations are replaced by "collective" bar code inputs. Then, the advanced apparatus is capable of accepting the voice instructions using the natural language which the user is familiar with. Progresses are made on responses from the apparatuses. Previously, the apparatus merely executes the instructions. Nowadays, the apparatus is capable of sending a response showing acceptance of the instruction(s). In the case of the reservation of videotape recording on the videotape recorder, for example, when the user accomplishes the reservation of videotape recording, the videotape recorder automatically indicates a videotape recording reservation mark on a certain section relating to a timer display of a video display screen thereof. At completion of the reservation, a television set connected to the videotape recorder visually displays a string of symbols (or characters) or natural language for declaring acceptance of the reservation on a screen thereof. In addition, the natural language is vocalized so that a speaker of the television set produces human voices representing a short sentence as follows:
"Reservation is completed (or accepted)".
Nowadays, the technology is developed to gradually actualize a simplified interface whose operation is simplified as described above. Now, engineers tend to pay an attention to the method to simulate the operation of the interface as if a personified agent performs the operation. Such personification will make the user to increase his or her expectation to the interface. However, too much increased expectation may cause dissatisfaction of the user against the present level of the interface which the user may not please so much. To eliminate such dissatisfaction of the user against the interface, the paper of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 6-12401 provides a new technology which tries to bring (simulated) emotions in the personified agent.
According to the conventional personified agent described above, the emotions are realized by changing one parameter with respect to a single situation or by changing multiple parameters independently with respect to a single situation. For this reason, if the effects given from the external are unchanged, an amount of variations of the emotions should be directly (or univocally) determined, regardless of the present emotional situation. So, as compared with the "actual" biological variations of the emotions, the personified agent is subjected to "unnatural" variations of the emotions.
In addition, the conventional personified agent is designed to accept only the pre-defined situations given from the external. So, the conventional personified agent does not change emotions in response to the non-defined situation(s). For this reason, the conventional personified agent lacks diversity in variations of the emotions.
Another method is provided to control the personified agent using random numbers for variations of the emotions. However, such a method may produce emotions whose variations are unnatural (or strange).